Year 2 Geography Unit Planning: Inquiry, Assessment, and Fieldwork

Vocabulary flashcards covering Year 2 Geography unit planning, curriculum alignment (AC9HS2K03), formative and summative assessment design, Beenleigh Community Garden excursion planning, and differentiation strategies.

Backwards mapping

A curriculum design approach where the teacher starts with the curriculum descriptor and intended learning, designs the final assessment, and then plans lessons to prepare students for it.

AC9HS2K03

A curriculum descriptor focusing on how places are represented across geographical scales and how people and places connect (in simple words, learning where places are and how they connect to people and other places).

Geography focus (vs. History)

A pedagogical direction that centers on maps, locations, and connections between places rather than examining changes over time.

Unit inquiry question

An open-ended question relevant to students' lives that encourages them to investigate how food connects people and places, rather than merely recalling facts.

Formative assessment

The practice of checking student learning during the unit through questions, discussions, maps, and observation records.

Summative assessment

An end-of-unit task—specifically a labelled map or illustrated display showing a familiar food's journey and connected places—that demonstrates what students have learned.

Beenleigh Community Garden

The excursion site chosen to offer a real-world opportunity for students to observe food growing and explore how people and places connect through a community space.

Four-week sequence

The instructional timeline where Weeks 1–2 build background knowledge and map skills, Week 3 applies learning in the garden, and Week 4 utilizes observations to complete the final assessment.

Excursion phases (Before, During, After)

A three-stage fieldwork procedure: preparing questions and learning vocabulary beforehand; observing and recording during the visit; and discussing findings, mapping connections, and completing the assessment afterward.

Excursion data collection methods

Techniques used by students to gather information at the garden, including observations, drawings, labels, questions, and notes.

Excursion contingency plan

Alternative instructional options used if the fieldwork visit is cancelled, including garden photos, videos, maps, a virtual tour, or a guest speaker.

Limitation of the garden excursion

The constraint that the garden shows only local growing rather than the entire food supply chain, requiring supplementary sources to fill the gap.

Diverse learner supports

Differentiation strategies including visuals, chunked instructions, vocabulary cards, sentence starters, small-group support, and varied response options (drawing, writing, or speaking orally).

Food-journey map / display

A labelled map or illustrated presentation paired with an explanation, used by students to communicate findings and demonstrate connections between places.